VVVV is an open-source software toolkit supporting interaction designers and artists handling of large media environments with physical interfaces, real-time motion graphics, audio and video that can interact with many users simultaneously.

The cool thing is that you can control Arduino and Genuino boards with VVVV by uploading a Firmata sketch and then start playing with the input and output pins.

What’s more, the team recently released a brand new set of nodes able to talk to your Arduinos. With this implementation you can:

• Just plug a DigitalWrite (Firmata), AnalogWrite (Firmata) or ServoWrite (Firmata) node to the Arduino node (or concatenate them together) to set the pins of the Board.
• Connect DigitalRead (Firmata) and AnalogRead (Firmata) nodes to get the values from the Board’s pins.
• Use the Sysex Messages output to receive different ‘Sysex Messages’ sent back by the Arduino Board. Some Sysex decoders are already there (see StringDecoder (Firmata), CapabilityDecoder (Firmata)). Sending custom ‘Sysex Messages’ is easy as well.
• Your board is not listed in the NodeBrowser? The Arduino nodes are easily adaptable for other controllers running Firmata. Hello teensy…

Easier than ever before:

• no need to supply a spread for all 20 pins and then SetSlice some of them to particular values.
• no need to define the ‘PinMode’ for each pin.
• no need to define which pins should report their values back.

Intrigued? Take a look at the details and discussion on VVVV blog!

When it comes to farming veggies like cucumbers, the sorting process can often be just as hard and tricky as actually growing them. That’s why Makoto Koike is using Google’s TensorFlow machine learning technology to categorize the cucumbers on his family’s farm by size, shape and color, enabling them to focus on more important and less tedious work.

A camera-equipped Raspberry Pi 3 is used to take images of the cucumbers and send them to a small-scale TensorFlow neural network. The pictures are then forwarded to a larger network running on a Linux server to perform a more detailed classification. From there, the commands are fed to an Arduino Micro that controls a conveyor belt system that handles the actual sorting, dropping them into their respective container.

You can read all about the Google AI project here, as well as see it in action below!

Rather than stumble around in the dark or blind himself with a bedside lamp, Maker Scott Clandinin has come up with an Arduino-powered, motion-activated lighting system for nighttime wandering.

The setup is fairly simple. A PIR sensor detects movement, which automatically triggers a hidden strip of RGB LEDs to illuminate a path as you get out of bed. An RTC module keeps the time and ensures that the lights only turn on between 9pm and 8am. (The good news is that the strip will only stay lit for approximately two minutes, and won’t keep you up for the rest of the night.) A small capacitive touch sensor on the bottom of its case can also be used to test the lighting display outside of operational hours. 

Tired of bumping into things or having to find the switch? Then check out Clandinin’s entire project on Hackaday.io.

If you’re looking to add some smarts to your kitchen, perhaps a robotic trashcan may be a good start. Take this recent project from Alex Gyver, for example, who built a bin that opens whenever he waves his hand above it.

In Gyver’s case, the can has two modes–one that raises the lid for 10 seconds when a hand is 10 to 30 centimeters away, and another for three seconds when 30 to 70 centimeters away. The latter is clearly for when you have to quickly throwing something out.

The system consists of an Arduino, an inexpensive range ultrasonic sensor, and a servo motor. The distances and times can easily be adjusted by editing the sketch.

Sound like something you’d like in your house, office or dorm? Check out the entire project on Instructables here.

A few months ago, Connor Nishijima demonstrated a neat project highlighting the Arduino Uno’s “built-in motion sensor.” Now, he’s using the Arduino Mega’s “built-in anti-GPS” to guess which countries you’re NOT in.  How, you ask? By reading the frequency of the alternating current (AC) cycles in his house using an open analog pin.

You’ll need an Arduino Mega to fit the array of Strings below, Uno doesn’t cut it even with use of PROGMEM. The Sketch is also written to use the Seeed Studio TFT Shield, but if you remove all “TFT” lines from the sketch you can just see the output in the Serial Monitor. An antenna (just a breadboard jumper) on A7 might be necessary.

Since various locations have varying power systems, Nishijima was able to program the board with a list of all those that cycle the AC at 60Hz and 50Hz AC. By knowing which one you have, the Arduino can then reckon which countries you’re not in and display its findings on the TFT shield.

Perhaps the best part of Nishijima’s hilarious video, though, is what happens when you don’t have enough AC in your home. When this occurs, you’ll receive the following error message: “NO ******* CLUE WHERE YOU ARE. SORRY NOT SORRY PAY YOUR ELECTRIC BILL.”

Admittedly, he notes that this trick is “pretty useless, but fun, nonetheless.” You can find more about the anti-GPS project on GitHub.

YouTuber “Mom Will Be Proud” and his family have a cat. And like all pets, their feline friend requires fresh food every morning. But rather than disrupt your sleep or daily routine, why not build an automated feeder using some spare parts? This is exactly what the Maker did using an Arduino, a servo, a simple button, a power supply, and two cans–one for housing the electronics, the other for the food.

Mom Will Be Proud cut little openings into each container, and connected them to a servo that rotates one on top of the other without ever getting stuck. A broken IKEA timer and a piece of plastic are used for the button, which when pressed, turn the cans until its holes match up and the food is dispensed into a bowl.

You can see how it works below!

What do you do when you’re the Queen of S****y Robots and you’re in the mood for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? You have a remote-controlled bot make one for you, of course. This is exactly what Simone Giertz set out to do in her latest hilarious project using a pair of robotic arms: one holds a plastic knife for spreading, while the other is puppeteered by her friend, Fiona.

Although this sandwich robot may not be making any PB&Js anytime soon, Giertz’s video will surely have you LOL-ing. Enjoy!

Moscow-based hacker artist ::vtol::, a.k.a. Dmitry Morozov, is back with another impressive project. His latest, called 2ch, is an interactive, pyramid-shaped instrument that enables two people to communicate via mind activity.

2ch consists of two NeuroSky EEG interfaces worn by both users, as well as two servo motors with a hall sensor and magnet, a two-channel sound system, a couple screens, and an Arduino. In terms of software, the instrument uses Pure Data and Max/MSP.

As Morozov explains:

The project is an instrument for communication between two people by means of visualising the electroencephalograms of two members, which are translated into sound, mechanical motion, and video images. Two participants should try to synchronize their minds, guided by the pitch of the tone, visualisation and movements of mechanical parts.

You can read more about the brain-to-brain interface on Co.Design, and see how it works below!

For a high school science fair project, Berto Garcia came up with an idea to help reduce concussions among football players. Now a student at Texas Tech University, he holds a provisional patent for the award-winning, life-changing project.

The helmet-and-shoulder pads system consists of an Arduino connected to four sensors around the front and inside of the helmet, which is programmed to stabilize immediately after impact. When the stabilizers are not activated, players have full movement. But when a wearer suffers a hit above a certain threshold, the board activates the stabilizers, locking the helmet into place and stiffening up to reduce the whiplash motion of the neck. It doesn’t stop the impact of the initial hit, but it keeps the head from rattling around inside the helmet after the collision.

The sensors are also able to measure the amount of force with which athletes are hit and, using a radio, can wirelessly transmit that data to trainers on the sideline. Knowing that could help healthcare professionals diagnose concussions more accurately. Given recent events around concussions and traumatic brain injuries, Garcia’s idea can certainly play an imperative role in the future of sports.

Read all about the Texas Tech undergrad’s project here.

Do you or your significant other have trouble sticking to a budget? Well, say goodbye to overspending with the iBag2: a high-tech wearable device that helps curb your impulse buys.

The iBag2 is equipped with a Genuino Uno, a 10,000mAh power bank, and several other interesting components. There’s a timer connected to electromagnets that lock the bag according to your most vulnerable spending moments during the course of a day, an RFID system hooked up to LEDs and vibration motors that illuminate in blue and vibrate each time your wallet is taken out, as well as a built-in GPS unit that warns you when you’re near a pre-preogrammed “vulnerable spending zone.”

Aside from curtailing your expensive bad habit, the iBag2 will also reminds you every two hours via yellow lights and small vibrations when it’s time to reapply sunscreen (you know, in case you’re shopping outdoors), and a Bluetooth tracker that pings your phone if the bag is a certain distance away from you.

The wearable prototype was created by Finder.com in collaboration with New York-based fashion designer Geova Rodrigues. Need a handbag that  knows when and where you’re likely to overspend? You can check out the iBag2 here.